Families for Orphans provides information about orphans, orphan ministry, and adoptions. Our goal is to help orphans get into families... and to provide love and hope for children who do not have a family.

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We recently featured the National Council for Adoption as one of our favorite websites for information about adoptions. The 2012 National Adoption Conference is coming up very soon now: June 13-16, in National Harbor, MD, near Washington, DC. One day of the conference is set aside for prospective adoptive parents.

Based on feedback from the 2011 conference, this year’s conference will be centered around how adoption service providers, adoptive parents, government officials, etc., can work together to get back to the Heart of the Matter - children who need families!

The professional sessions will be child-focused and client-centered. NCFA asks all participants to lay aside self-interests, collaborate, and do whatever it takes to fix what is wrong and fight for what is right. NCFA wants this conference to be one of excellence where we provide hope-filled strategies, prepare agencies and families for success, and celebrate adoption and its core values/roots.
Prospective Adoptive Parents Day sessions are guaranteed to boost your knowledge about the adoption process, adoption options, and resources available to you both pre- and post-adoption. You will have the opportunity to get your individual questions answered by adoption experts. You will hear personal stories from adopted individuals, birthparents, and adoptive parents.The 2012 National Adoption Conference will be held from June 13–16. Professional sessions are Wednesday-Friday, June 13-15 and Prospective Adoptive Parents Day is Saturday, June 16. All sessions will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just minutes outside of Washington, DC.For more information and to register, please visit NCFA's website: https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/

Founded in 1980, the National Council For Adoption (NCFA) is an adoption advocacy nonprofit that promotes a culture of adoption through education, research, and legislative action.

Their areas of focus are infant adoption, adoption out of foster care, and intercountry adoption. Passionately committed to the belief that every child deserves a nurturing, permanent family, they serve children, birthparents, adoptive families, adoption agencies, U.S. and foreign governments, policymakers, media, and the general public as the authoritative voice for adoption.
On NCFA's website, families interested in adoption will find an excellent listing of resources and information. Families are also invited to participate in the "intercountry adoption journey", a training program developed in cooperation with the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the U.S. Department of State.The original Intercountry Adoption Journey 1.0 launched in February 2008 as one of the first Hague certification programs offered to parents and adoption professionals. By January 2011, NCFA had certified more than 10,000 adoptive parents and adoption professionals through its Hague-compliant online training. NCFA's Hague-compliant training has been recognized by many accredited adoption agencies, as well as by adoption authorities in several Hague and non-Hague nations.Families are invited to become members of NCFA. NCFA's Adoption Advocates have a unique opportunity to unite with a community of people who are passionate about adoption and share the belief that every child deserves a loving, permanent family. NCFA members will help make a difference in the lives of thousands of children waiting to be adopted and play a key role in promoting a culture of adoption in our nation and around the world through advocacy, social networking, blogging, and sharing with others the personal impact of adoption in their lives.NCFA welcomes all who share in the belief that every child deserves a loving, permanent family. Our members include adopted individuals, birthparents, adoptive parents, families, social workers, students, and adoption professionals from all walks of life.

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Big Family Mission ministers to children in Russia who will never have the opportunity to get adopted.

Please read this wonderful and encouraging testimony, an excerpt from our Big Family Mission newsletter for May:

• Three brothers and their sister, ages 3
to 8, living in different orphanages in western Siberia, miles from their
hometown;

• Their mom and dad: drug addicts, and their
father died from drug abuse;

• Pastor Andrey
Khoroshchenko, Novokuznetsk, Siberia, first learned of this family when he buried the children’s father, over a
year after the government placed the children in orphanages.

Pastor Andrey remembers his visit
to house that had once been home for the four children: “We saw a severe picture: small house, two
beds and a sofa, some dishes in the kitchen. Nothing else. Drunken
people, dirt, cold. The outdoor
wooden toilet had been burned to heat the house. We learned parents had been using drugs and
drinking for several years. Then we were told that there were four children,
who lived in an orphanage for the last year.”

Thus begins the story of how
Andrey and his wife Marina grew to love and then started the adoption process
for the four children they had never met.

Pastor Andrey continues the
story: “As we worked with drug addicts, we saw a lot of destroyed families and
abandoned children. We also worked
in orphanages so we knew very well the future of the four children.

“Marina wanted to adopt a child,
so when we learned about the four children, we started praying. We prayed for
several months and tried to decide how we could help those children. Only one
thing was clear to us: God wanted us to
minister to these children. We had never seen them. They had never seen us.

“I called to the orphanage and
was told that the children had been moved to another city, Anzhero-Sudzhensk,
and lived in different orphanages. We started gathering documents. Everything
went quickly; we had no problems. Then
came our interview with the social committee of the city. They told us that they had been known us for
several years, that our church helped a lot with orphans. So they didn`t have any questions and were very happy for us that we had decided to
adopt.

“When we went to
Anzhero-Sudzhensk to take our children from the orphanage, the director was
very surprised to see us with all the documents and ready to take children
home. They informed us we need orders
from mayor of Anzhero-Sudzhensk.
Also, we needed to get children’s consent. So we had to wait.

“A month later, we could at last
take children. They were taken from different orphanages to meet us. We saw
each other for the first time. They looked at us very shyly, and when the
social worker asked them if they wanted to come with us, they nodded their
agreement. I don’t think they realized
completely what was happening, who we were and what we wanted.

“Physician told us that Grisha
had serious problems. He was born when his parents used drugs. He had tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, HIV,
and other diseases. We didn’t expect to
hear this, but we knew that God wanted us to serve these children. He is
Father to all orphans and widows.

“Later, we learned that Grisha
was not potty-trained. He had deep wounds in his soul. No one had loved him, nobody had needed
him. All the time he lived in fear. At
night, he woke up screaming.

“Adopting children is a ministry
to God. We have about 10 years to put in them right priorities, eternal values,
a love for God and His Word. We don`t
know if we can do it, but we pray to be able to do it.

“On our way back home, the
children started calling us mom and dad.
I asked if they prayed at the orphanage. ‘Yes,’ answered Tima, ‘we prayed that somebody would take us from
there.’ Once again I was convinced
that God is not indifferent to such children.
He really loves them and wants to serve them.

“I should not forget to tell you
that Marina and I already had four children, so suddenly our family had
doubled. Now, every day is noisy and
joyful. One is playing, another is crying, two are arguing, and all of them
want to go for a walk. Our home is like
a beehive with bees. I take a rest at church, when I work. Each morning
there is a line to the toilet. Each day, a new toilet paper roll. We are
definitely not bored.

“Children are good. They are
obedient and not spoiled. Of course a year at the orphanage gave fruit: they
say bad words to each other. But we educate them and pray and heal and serve
them. We also ask you to pray for them.”

Thank you, Pastor Andrey for
sharing with us this beautiful testimony of God’s love for orphans! And, thank you to all of our Big Family
partners who make it possible to embrace and encourage this family with prayers
and financial support!

Although Adoption.com is loaded with advertisements for various agencies and services, it provides a wealth of information on almost every aspect of adoption. Adoption.com describes its mission: "Adoption.com is committed to helping as many children as possible find loving, permanent homes. We also provide critical information at the decision-making moment to women facing crisis pregnancies. "We assist adoptees and birthparents to find birthfamilies, and we help hopeful adoptive parents make adoption dreams come true. "We are especially committed to helping special needs children in the U.S. and around the world, who otherwise wouldn't be able to find families."Most Adoption.com are free community services, including: photolisting of waiting children, adoption reunion registry, and online support forums. The Adoption.com founders (Nathan Gwilliam and Dale Gwilliam) and employees have had an extensive heritage and experience with adoption and fostering, which spans 6 generations. Adoption.com websites have been built with experience that includes adoptive parenting, foster parenting, adoption search, social work, unplanned pregnancy, and adoption law.Just be aware that you will see a lot of paid advertising on the Adoption.com websites. Of course, without the paid advertising, this website would not be able to provide all the information and services about adoption.

Here's a great website from the U.S. government: The Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families by connecting child welfare, adoption, and related professionals as well as the general public to information, resources, and tools covering topics on child welfare, child abuse and neglect, out-of-home care, adoption, and more.

Another website that provides a wealth of information about orphans and adoption: The Christian Alliance for Orphans: www.christianalliancefororphans.org .From their website:"The Christian Alliance for Orphans unites more than 100 respected Christian organizations and a national network of churches. Working together, our joint initiatives inspire, equip and connect Christians to “defend the fatherless” (Isaiah 1:17)."Ultimately, we seek to stimulate and help grow Christian communities committed to adoption, foster care and global orphan care in the local church. Our united efforts include the national Summit, the Orphan Sunday campaign, monthly webinars, and an array of other initiatives."As the Alliance helps Christians understand God’s call to care for the orphan and equips them for effective response, the impact reaches far beyond a single program or met need. Rather, an ever-expanding army of passionate advocates invest time, talent and treasure in a personal and sustained commitment to caring for orphans in the name of Christ."Alliance membership includes three primary categories: organization, church and individual. Regional or National Alliances of churches may join as affiliates of the Alliance. Together, all Alliance members advance a vision larger than any one of us. Without the Alliance, most members would work in isolation or even competition. Instead, the unifying leadership of the Alliance creates shared impact no one organization, church or individual could achieve alone."Churches may join the Alliance without having to pay a membership fee.Thank you, Christian Alliance for Orphans, for providing a wide array of useful information about adoptions and orphan ministry!

Today, we begin a series of postings about informative and helpful websites for orphan and adoption resources. Our first featured website: Orphan Care Resources. www.OrphanCareResources.org . Orphan Care Resources, an initiative of The CoMission for Children at Risk, exists to equip believers to care for orphans. Their vision: A Believer in the Life of Every Orphan! The website provides information, resources and events for international orphan care, church orphan ministries, adoptive or foster families, and anyone caring for the fatherless in any way> They describe their website as follows: Orphans are clearly close to our Father's heart, and He has opened doors of opportunity for His people to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of these precious children whom He loves so deeply. Many believers around the world have responded to God's call to care for orphans and street children. Now Orphan Care Resources provides the information believers need to be equipped to do what God has called us to do. At present, much of the information on this website is focused on orphans and adoption movements in Russia and Eastern Europe. The Orphan Care Resources website allows ministries and other orphan care/adoption organizations to post a listing and profile on the website. Thank you, Orphan Care Resources, for bringing a wealth of resources onto one platform!

We've added several feeds to very useful and popular blogs on adoption and orphans to Famiies for Orphans. Check them out in our right-hand column. If you have suggestions for other blogs of a similar nature, please let us know.

Children in Russian orphanage line up to receive their very own Bible!